Musical instrument



ATTORNEYS W. BARTHOLOMAE MUSICAL INSTRUMENT Filed Jan. 6, 1926 Feb.

T .liisus'ed to change Patented Feb. 22, 1927.

IBARTHOLQMAE,-OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

Application filed January invention relates to a musical instrument and has for an object to-provide a construction which may be used as an instrument for playing tunes or may be used as a toy, thev construction being such that an experienced or inexperienced person may secure desirable results therefrom.

'Ano'therobject of the invention is to provide a musical instrument wherein a single to. vibratileor sounding member is provide withmeans for changing the pitch as the instrument. isfopera'ted. I

. Another object of the invention is'to pro-' ride a musicalinstrument wherein one hand the, pitch and the other to produce the mechanical movements necessary to cause sounds.

In the accompanying drawing Figure 1 a perspective view of a pre- 20, ferred embodiment of the invention. Figure 2. is a longitudinal vertical sectional viewfthrough Figure 1, approximate.-

7 1y on line 22.

3 1s a, transverse sectional view Figure 2, approximately on line Figure 2a through I Figure 4v is, a fragmentary horizontal sectional view through Figure2 online 4-4. Figure5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view through Figure 2 on line 5-5.v

Referring to the accompanying drawing. by numerals, 1 indicates. a casing or frame which be, of metal, wood or other desiredmaterial and. which if desired, may beprovided with supporting legs 2 and 3. These legs are removably connected with the frame 1 and may be used in connection therewith 'or the frame 1' and associated parts may be used independently of the legs. When the device is'on a table or similar support, the legs are used as shown in Figure 1 I but when the device is used in the lap, the

legs may be dispensed with.

As indicated in Figure 4, the frame 1 is provided with side members 4 and 5. Each of these side members is provided with an inner section 6 preferably of wood and an outer section or side plate 7 preferably of metal.

Each of the lnner sections 6 is provided with a slot 8 at one end accommodating the rod 9 while at the opposite end of the frame the members 6 are provided with bores for receiving the ends of the rod 10, said rod, however, not projecting through the side plates 7 The rods 9 and 10 may be metal, Wood or other desired material and 6,1926. Serial No. 79,643.

are each provided with a slit 11 for receiving the respective ends 12 and 13 of the vibratile member 14. The, member 14 when caused to vibrate, will produce a sound and by shifting rod 9 longitudinally of frame 1-, the vibratile member 14 will be bowed as indicated in dotted lines in Figure 2 where upon a different pitch is produced when the ball or knob 15 strikes the same. It will 1 be noted that both the rods 9 and 10 are rocked simultaneously and rod 9 will move longitudinally of the slots 8- as the member 14 bows. U-shaped arms 16 and 17 are connected in any suitable manner with the rods 9 and 10 and these arms are connected tr geth-er by a flexible member 18. The mem-- ber 18 has been shown as a flexible strip of metal tho-ugh it might be cord or other flexible member so that when it is pressed downwardly at any point between its ends, the arms 16' 17 will be swung inwardly for rocking rods 9' and 10. An indicating arm or pointer 19 is rigidly secured to the ends of rod 9 and extends toa point exteriorly of the frame 1 so that the free end may pass over the scale dial 20. When member 18 is depressed as shown in dotted lines in Figure 2, the pointer 19 will move upwardly, as, for instance, to the position indicating G' on scale 20. If the member 18 is forced down a short distance further, the pointer will move to A on scale 20 Whereas if" it is released somewhat, the pointer will move back to F. hen the pointer moves backand forth as just described, the vibratile member 14 will be bowed to a greater or less extent and will produce sounds indicated by the letters on scale 20 By this construction and arrangement, a tune may be readily played on the actuation of the ball 15. The ball 15 is connected to a flexible member 21 which is preferably a thin strip of steel secured at one end to the bar 22, which bar is pivotally mounted at 23 in the frame 1. The frame 1 is cut away so as to admit the bar 22 and is provided with a shoulder 24 against which bar 22 presses when the outer end 25 of the bar is de pressed manually. Preferably, the parts are so positioned that thebar 22 engages the shoulder 24 and the ball 15 will not contact with the vibratile member 14 unless the same is given a quick movement. In this way when the bar 20 is struck and raised until it strikes the shoulder 24, ball 15 will quickly strike the vibratile member 14 and will move away from the same so that a proper sound may be secured. In order to play a given musical composition, a music rack 26 is pro vided for holding a suitable sheet of music 27, said rack having a body 28 and a pressed out tongue 29 adapted to pinch the music sheet 27. The lower end of the rack 26 is bent back on itself at 80 so as to form a groove or channel for accommodating the turned over portion 31 of one of the metal side pieces 7.

In operation, when it is desired to use the device, the operator places one hand or a finger on member 18 and the other on the end of bar 22. If the lowest note is desired, end 25 may be struck by the hand for causing the ball 15 to strike the member 14 and thereby secure the desired sound. In order to change from one note to another, member 18 is pressed downwardly or released to a greater or less extent for bowing to a greater or less extent member 14. Upon each change ball 15 is caused to function and a sound will be produced thereby. A person operating the device may .watch the pointer 19 in order to secure the proper note or may after some practice, operate the device through the touch. WVhen used by a child as a toy, the member 18 and member 20 are both moved more or less promiscuously in order to secure different tones as member 14 is bowed. It will be noted that by bowing the member 14, the same is put under greater or less tension according to the position of the rod 9 and the higher the tension the higher the note. The ball 15, flexible member 21 and the swinging bar 22 have been shown as means for striking the vibratile memberbut if desired, an independent hammer might be used and under some circumstances, a double hammer might be used connected to the U-shaped support whereby the vibratile member could be struck on both sides What I claim is: r

1. A musical instrument, comprising a vibratile member, a rockable rod connected to said vibratile member at each end, manually actuated means for rocking said rods, one of said rods being movable toward the other as it is rocked, and a manually actuated striking member for striking said vibratile member.

2. A musical instrument comprising a frame, a pair of rods rotatably mounted in the frame, one of said rods being also capable of longitudinal movement, a flat vibratile member of the same width throughout positioned so that one end will project into each of said rods, manually actuated means for rocking said rods so as to vary the tension of said vibratile member, and a swinging member for striking said vibratile member in order to produce sound.

8. A musical instrument comprising a vibratile member, a manually actuated structure for bringing said vibratile member under tension, said manually actuated structure acting simultaneously on both ends of said vibratile member, and a pivotally mounted manually actuated striking member, said striking member being formed with a bar, a ball and a spring for supporting said ball, said ball being positioned to strike said vibratile member.

4. A musical instrument comprisin a frame, a pair of rods rotatably mountec in the frame, one of said rods being also capable of movement longitudinally of the frame, a vibratile member having one end connected to the rod capable of movement longitudinally of the frame and the other end connected to the other of said rods, an arm connected with each of said rods, a flexible member connected with both of said arms whereby when the same is pulled in a direction away from said vibratile member the arms will be swung and cause said vibratile member to bow, and means for striking said vibratile member for causing the same to produce a sound.

lVILLIAM BARTHOLOMAE. 

